Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ehtic* (for Ethic*)

Eh, feh, meh, mu ... however you say it, what you're basically saying is: "I don't care, not really, whatever, none of the above." The word meh was popularized (eventually meriting an entry in the Collins English Dictionary) by the TV show The Simpsons. In one episode, Homer tries to talk Bart and Lisa, who are watching television, into taking a trip to Blockoland. "We said meh!" Lisa tells him. "M-E-H, meh!" Wikipedia defines the word thusly: "'Meh' is an interjection, often used as an expression of apathy, indifference, or boredom. However, it can also be used to indicate agreement or disagreement." (It appears it can function as an adjective as well, in which case it means "mediocre or boring.") It's a neologism that can barely get off of the couch. We found Ehtic* (for ethic*) 15 times in OhioLINK and 224 times in WorldCat. I hope you don't say "meh" to today's typo, though; it's your ethical duty to correct the spelling of this all-important word. Eh, thanks!